Leaving uni.....

30singlebroke

Good afternoon,

I was wondering if you could help me.

I am 30 and have started a PGCE in September to become a drama secondary teacher. I split up with my partner (which I now regret and his now with someone esle) and left my job that I enjoyed in PR to begin a PGCE at a university 250 milies away.

Everyone told me to teach but now I am here, I am lonely, miserable and find the work load too stressful and too much. I just want to go back to PR where I was earning decent money and can still have a good career.

I was told that if I leave before the 29th November I would have to pay £500 pounds to uni. If I leave between 30th November - 14th Jan it is half tution fees and if after that date it is full fees payable.

I have tution fee loan, grants and full student loans.

My first instalment for tution fee is due 2nd Feb 2011...

Now I know I want to quit, but I have nowhere to live and am tied till christmas in contract, so I am thinking about staying here till then and then waiting till get my next loan instalment due 4th Jan and then leaving that week.

But can anyone help me, I will obviously give back the grant money I recieve (so wont spend any of that) but what about the loan, would I need to give that back staright away or would it just get added on the my exsiting student loan? And what about fees, I mean the SLC wont pay them in Feb as would have been left, so am I liable for this? and could I work out a payment scheme with uni for this.

I am so confused, or should I just leave right now today, with no money and no where to go


Thanks

applealltheway

Hi

sorry to hear this........ What I would HIGHLY RECOMMEND, is going to your student support at your university, I am so sure that they will be able to help you!

Thats what they are there for at the end of the day, better to get help face to face rather than from some words on the internet



Good luck and all the best!

RoseRed

What ever you do don't be hasty. It is a real challenge going back to Uni after being at work and it seems like you have been through a huge upheaval.

Go and speak to your student support, it is no surprise that you are overwhelmed at the moment. It must have been a big decision to leave your job and start a PGCE, you made that decision for a reason so you have to be certain that you are making the right decision to leave.

My hubby is a teacher and he says the toughest year of his career was the PGCE year.

Good luck with what ever you decide to do.

Rose

Oldernotwiser

Don't leave until you're actually offered a suitable job - at least now you have somewhere to live, money to live on and a purpose. You might find getting back into PR harder than you expect.

moneysaving_convert

How long is your course? I seem to remember PGCE being 1 year with loads of t.p. thrown in.
Why did you give up PR? What made you want to teach?

You will have some holiday away from lectures for a few weeks which will give you time to sit and think. When you go back things may not seem so bad. Have you gone into the classroom yet? You may find that you love the practical side of the course.

There are a lot of advantages to being a teacher (especially if you end up having a family), so it may be worthwhile completing the course now that you have started it. Plus, when applying for a new job it would look better to have a qualification on your cv rather than a "gap" in your employment. You could then use it as a positive: you are not afraid to try something new, you have another qualification, and you have learnt a lot of new skills that you will be able to use in your career.

Loads to think about: seek loads of advice, do some soul searching, have a rest over Christmas...but don't make a rash decision!

Taiko

I'd also like to point out, if you leave before the 1st December, you'll no longer be eligible for the tuition fee loan.

mummytofour

My first yr at Uni was horrid and like you I am a mature student. I personally think that you need to try very hard to throw yourself into the PGCE and think what you will have at the end of it. The course will be over in just a few months and you can then either teach or go back into PR. PR will still be there but you will not have this chance again I doubt. Actually it might do you some good thinking about nothing but the PGCE for a while and allow you to detach yourself from the relationship split.

Good luck!

Mankysteve

You could well find it will be a few mounts if until you find a another decent job in this moment in time.

student_84

Firstly I would speak to you personal tutor/course leader, on a PGCE they're usually fantastic! Also speak with Student Services/Student union as they will help you make an informed decision about what to do including a decision from a financial point ok view.

I also have a PGCE but have decided to move away from teaching, however if you can stomach it I would continue to do the course even if you dont want to go into teaching, this will give you time to find a job while having a little financial security. I know that 3/4 people from my course felt the same a few moths in too and they also made the decision to finish the course as it gave them time to put plan into place.

mummytofour

student_84 wrote: »

Firstly I would speak to you personal tutor/course leader, on a PGCE they're usually fantastic! Also speak with Student Services/Student union as they will help you make an informed decision about what to do including a decision from a financial point ok view.

I also have a PGCE but have decided to move away from teaching, however if you can stomach it I would continue to do the course even if you dont want to go into teaching, this will give you time to find a job while having a little financial security. I know that 3/4 people from my course felt the same a few moths in too and they also made the decision to finish the course as it gave them time to put plan into place.

The same with social work, many of my course wont be going into social work when they graduate.

TheEffect

Stick it out. PGCE is mainly teaching in classes with minimal time spent at university. However much you hate it, it'll be over in 5-6 months and you'll have QTS and be a qualified teacher. After, you can go back to PR or whatever you want, but take that with you, don't drop out now, half way through.